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The opioid epidemic is on the agenda for political campaigns, from the presidential race down to the local level in the Ohio Valley region. Election Day could shape the response to the crisis in states with some of the nation’s highest rates of addiction and overdoses.

Pat Fogarty, director of business development and mission advancement atThe Healing Place treatment center in Louisville, said he’s seen the political discussion about addiction change for the better.

“There’s less stigma around addiction by the way it’s been approached by our leadership,” he said. “That needs to continue to snowball for the future and not be put on the backburner.”

The Healing Place’s Pat Fogarty in Louisville has seen the addiction crisis from both sides.

Addiction specialists say that while they’ve seen progress, there is still need for treatment resources, prevention programs and aid for law enforcement across the region. They hope candidates in this year’s election cycle understand those needs.

The platforms and proposals emerging in several key races in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia indicate that candidates seem to be paying attention. Here’s an overview of what the election could mean for how the Ohio Valley will combat the epidemic.

Kentucky: A Funding Dispute

While The Healing Place has had more treatment resources than in years past, Pat Fogarty believes treatment programs across Kentucky need more.

During their first debate, organized by the AARP, Justice touched on the connection between the addiction crisis and job creation.

“We have a real problem,” he said. “Our workforce is a real problem, but with drugs. We’ve got to fix this.”

In an endorsement from the National Association of Social Workers West Virginia chapter, the campaign details Justice’s plans to provide treatment. Highlights include restoring funding previously cut for treatment programs, limiting access to prescription painkillers in favor of alternate pain treatment, and adding treatment programs to regional jails.

Cole went into the nuance of his plan during the debate.

While vowing to aggressively go after drug dealers, he promotes directing funds to programs that give jobs to people in recovery.

“That’s what we always miss,” Cole said. “We get them out of treatment and then can’t get them back to work because of a felony conviction.”

The remaining points in his action plan call for: support for drug courts; creating an Office of Drug Action; training idled workers for rehabilitation jobs; repurposing existing buildings for treatment centers; and improvements to prevention programs.

New Hampshire has seen a surge in heroin use, and the combination of the crisis and the state’s tradition of hosting the nation’s first presidential primary likely helped put the issue on the presidential campaign agenda.

When asked by a voter in the crowd about the epidemic, Clinton said her plan would lead with a nationwide discussion about addiction.

“I want us to have a very broad-based education information campaign because some young people don’t truly understand the risks,” Clinton said.

She then said there would be a need for a major expansion of treatment resources.

“When a young person says that he or she is ready, they want help, very often they can’t find help,” she said.

The expansion included a $10 billion proposal when Clinton released the full initiative in a September 2015 opinion piece published in the New Hampshire Union Leader.

A total of $7.5 billion would go toward state-designed plans to expand treatment “that make most sense for their communities’ needs.”

Then $2.5 billion would go toward boosting the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant by 25 percent so communities could apply for immediate relief.

The remaining three points in her five-point initiative involve ensuring all first responders have access to the potentially life-saving overdose reversal drug naloxone, creating additional requirements for opioid prescribers, and prioritizing rehabilitation and treatment over prison when appropriate.

Until late in the campaign, Republican nominee Donald J. Trump’s only policy items on the addiction crisis were to build a wall along the southern border to deter drug trafficking and to provide an unspecified amount of money for additional resources.

Law enforcement takes the lead in the proposal, as the border wall is still central. Additionally, Trump would implement mandatory minimum sentences for drug-trafficking crimes and close regulation loopholes that can result in illicit drugs entering the country by mail.

He also proposed additional resources for those suffering with addiction.

“We’ll make sure they have the top treatment and get better,” Trump told the crowd.

The plan also calls for an evaluation of regulations that he said could keep patients from medication-assisted treatment and regulations that make treatment unaffordable.

He credits the “tough on crime, empathetic to addiction” policies to running mate Mike Pence, who made efforts to implement similar policies while governor of Indiana.

The third-party candidates in the race have mentioned the opioid epidemic during their campaigns as well.

Libertarian Gary Johnson’s website calls for the legalization of marijuana as a possible alternative to opioid painkillers.

“The health benefits of cannabis in pain treatment has already proven to be safer and less addictive than current pain medications such as opioids,” he said.

In a response to a Cox Mediaquestionnaire, Green Party candidate Jill Stein called for addiction to be treated as a public health crisis and for pharmaceutical companies to be held accountable.

“I would stop big pharmaceutical companies from overcharging for prescription drugs and pushing drug use beyond what is medically necessary,” she said.

The View From the Front Lines

The addiction treatment experts I spoke with say it’s up to politicians to follow through with their campaign promises. Dr. Joseph Gay added that those working on the issue also have a role in holding officials accountable.

“So the candidates will understand that it’s an important issue,” he said. “It’s a serious problem in this area and throughout [Ohio].”

For Matt Boggs and Recovery Point West Virginia, that role includes an open invitation to any politician to come see what treatment resources look like in action.

“You will leave with a changed view on what recovery looks like when you see the smiling faces of a hundred men who were once hopeless and now they have hope,” he said.

It also means sharing personal stories of battling opioid addiction and success through recovery, stories like Pat Fogarty’s: He’s not just an employee at The Healing Place, he’s also a former client recovering from an opioid addiction.

“If I didn’t have that opportunity for recovery and the opportunity to go to The Healing Place, I would certainly be dead right now,” he said.